CHESTER — In a week, the tenor of the Philadelphia Union has completely changed, moving in step with its standing within the playoff picture. It’s no surprise, then, that the Union face a polar-opposite challenge in MLS this week when Toronto comes to town.

Last Friday, they faced a trip to Sporting Kansas City, the team in second place in the Eastern Conference against which the Union had played well this season without getting the results to match. Playing the role of massive underdog at a place they’ve never won, they escaped Sporting Park with a shocking 1-0 win to reignite a flickering playoff chase.

This week, the Union play host to the team second from the bottom of the table in the East, Toronto FC, a team against which they’ve struggled mightily this season, managing to extract two measly draws.

Union manager John Hackworth stressed Wednesday that his team needs to maintain consistency in its process this week, even if the circumstances and the tactics change.

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“I think tactically we have to approach the game a little differently,” Hackworth said at his weekly press conference at PPL Park. “Last Friday, we were the underdog, and quite honestly, we’re pretty good in that role. But this week people are going to say, we’re at home, Philly’s got to win to keep pace with the playoff race. The pressure is truly on us this week. But that’s OK, because I think anybody in our locker room would want it that way with four games to play.”

The Kansas City trip involved a new formation for the Union (11-10-9, 42 points), a 4-2-3-1 that utilized two holding midfielders in Brian Carroll and Michael Lahoud to stifle Kansas City’s potent attack. It was effective thanks in large part to Zac MacMath’s five saves in recording his league-leading 11th shutout of the season.

While Hackworth praised Carroll and Lahoud specifically, he reserved special attention for his young goalkeeper.

“We have a ton of confidence in (Zac), there’s no question as you guys can tell as well,” Hackworth said. “But for him to have that kind of performance when we really needed it, we really needed to get through those first 15-20 minutes against Sporting KC, and he did a fantastic job of managing his box, making a couple of big plays, his distribution was good. It was a very, very good performance by Zac, and that set a tone for the rest of us, for the rest of the team the rest of the way. I’m very proud of him.”

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The Union’s result against Kansas City not only put them back in playoff position, owning the East’s fifth and final playoff spot, but it has changed the arithmetic of what they’re looking for from the season’s final four games.

Before the KC trip, which Hackworth refused to label as a must-win, he targeted for his team three wins and a draw from the final five games. Given the way teams in the East have beaten up on each other, Hackworth revised that down to two wins the rest of the way and with the draw being less imperative. With winnable games against the bottom two teams in the East — Toronto this week and at D.C. United next week — plus a trip to Montreal and Kansas City at home, the prognosis looks more favorable.

“It’s hard to tell, but if anything the results from this past weekend may have lowered it by a point,” Hackworth said. “We’re in an interesting situation because our opponents that are playing for that final or last two playoff spots are in the same position we are and we’re all playing each other. So somebody’s going to lose points along the way, and other teams are going to gain them. … Again, you look at the math and you just look at some of the results and you think seven points is going to get you there.”

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On the injury front, the Union limped back from Kansas City with Danny Cruz (hamstring) and Sheanon Williams (leg) withdrawn with injuries in addition to Keon Daniel (groin) having been unable to make the trip. All three are back in training, Cruz the only one that isn’t yet at 100 percent, though Hackworth anticipates they and Sebastien Le Toux (plantar fasciitis) will be good to go Saturday.